Veronica sits at the white dressing table, staring at her reflection. In her hand she holds the cream she should have applied five minutes ago, but the thoughts that are cluttering her head are pulling her away from face care.
It is late evening. The clock indicates 11 p.m. Her roommate has been asleep in bed for more than forty minutes, as if killed.
The seventeen-year-old doesn't know what to think about her brother's behavior. On the one hand, she finds it disturbing, but on the other hand, it's nothing new, as he has been acting like a jerk all his life. He pushes away his family, peers, and later rebels, showing how lonely and unhappy he is.
Despite everything... what bothers her most is that he keeps referring to Julie, trying to warn her that she is an evil spirit, a curse on their family, that they are in danger.
A part of her wants to believe these words because Julie can take on different forms, yet Eric has been lying all his life, and Julie has never deceived her. Occasionally, he even helps her, all she has to do is ask her for something, and she gets what she wants ...
— Explain to me why you are the only ghost that, me and my brother, we have seen since birth? — She looks in reflection at the twelve-year-old girl behind her. — You take on different forms, Julie. Yesterday in the cafeteria it was you, smiling, seeing that things are getting worse between me and my brother.
The girl looks sad.
— I am sorry that you are starting to judge me. Aren't we friends? Eric is jealous, trying to stir things up between us.
— Jealous? Of what? — The teenager snorts under her breath.
— About you, haven't you noticed? — Veronica crinkles her eyebrows. — It hurts him that I, Lucas, or anyone else has a better relationship with you than he does. He suffers because of this and takes revenge on you.
It's impossible for Eric to be jealous of her relationships with other people. He is indifferent, he isn't concerned about good relations with his family.
— The last thing I would think of is jealousy on his part. My brother hangs out with, whom I hang out with.
— Not at all, Veronica. He will try to quarrel you with your friends. He plans to take revenge on you and take everything away from you.
The brunette pats the cream into her face, then turns to the phantom, looking amused by her words.
— Don't try to make excuses by telling me stupid things. I won't forgive you anyway. I'll keep pressing you until you finally reveal to me why you've been with us since you were born and why you can take on different forms. — The teenager reaches for the mist, paying no attention to Julie's bitter face, whose eyes turn red for a moment. — Since you are my friend, and I am fierce and do not let go easily, you will have to reveal the truth to me. However, I hope that you were not the bitch who revolted my brother as a child.
The ghost disappears, Veronica glances at her reflection and snorts under her breath.
— She took offense... I won't forgive her anyway. — She sprays her face with a moisturizing mist, then turns off the light and goes to bed. Lying on her back, her eyes are wide open, guessing that tonight she will not fall asleep. — I knew Eric's appearance would cause me trouble. — He sighs with resignation. — All his life he has caused problems, and now I have to deal with him myself.
Ten years ago.
Veronica starts to cry when she finds a tattered Barbie doll in her room. She sits down in the middle of the fluffy carpet and screams loudly, calling her mother.
Julie, who accompanies her, looks at her with compassion in her eyes.
— Sorry, Veronica, I tried to stop your brother, but he wouldn't listen to me. He did it on purpose. He was jealous that you had more toys than him. — The ghost disappears when he hears someone approaching the door.
The seven-year-old, red from crying, wipes tears from her face as her mother enters the room.
— Eric destroyed all my toys — she complains, hoping her brother will be punished.
The woman crouches down opposite her daughter and strokes her hair.
— I'm sorry, honey. I'll talk to Eric and explain to him that he can't mess with you like this.
— He doesn't listen to you anyway, Mom, then he teases me even worse.
— I promise he won't do it again. Don't worry, Daddy will buy you a new doll. — The woman kisses her on the top of her head. — I'm going to go talk to your brother, okay?
She leaves the room and enters the next room, leaving the door ajar. The girl peeps through the crack, wanting to see if her mother will punish her unbearable brother.
The woman takes a seat next to her son, sitting with his back to the door. She puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to speak to him, but Eric remains silent, staring at one point.
— Will you talk to me? — The six-year-old ignores her words. His eyes are unfriendly, his mouth tightened at all times. — I'm your mother, you can tell me about anything that makes you sad. I promise to help you.
He has been like this for several years. Closed in on himself, hateful, with eyes full of suffering. Hannah and her husband even started taking him to a psychologist, having a bad feeling that the little boy was struggling with the same problem she had in the past, but the doctor could not reach him. At each visit, Eric didn't say a word to him.
— Mom wants to help you, she wants you to be happy because the lack of a smile on your face, I cause it breaks my heart.
Eric lifts the corner of his mouth, smiling devilishly. The gaze of black eyes, he transfers to his mother.
— So you had to unravel the issue in the past. I wouldn't suffer now, mommy, if you defeated all the demons, but you.... — The boy squints, looking at her with a hateful gaze. — You and Daddy got away with it, suspending the curse of the family and transferring it to the children.
This is not the first time her six-year-old child has said such wise words. Hannah realizes that it is not her son who is saying these sentences, but someone who has control over him.
Again, something has possessed him.
— I don't know what you are, but you have nothing to do with us.
— Are you sure, Hannah? — The mother opens her eyes wide, looking horrified by her son's words. — What if you never had contact with Solar? — she adds in a whisper, causing the woman to pull herself up from the mattress, afraid of her child.
— Whatever you are, I will send you back to the devil. I won't let you hurt my child!
Veronica hides in her room as her mother leaves Eric's room. When she's not in the hallway, she re-approaches her brother's door, peeping at him through a crack in the door. She sees a black glow rising from his body. Something leaves him, causing the six-year-old to pass out on the mattress.
The girl watches this with frightened eyes, putting her hands to her mouth. She watches as the black phantom takes form with a hood over its head.
There is no face, although the eyes of this bane glow red, looking like hidden LEDs under the hood.
Present.
The 17-year-old twists to the side, placing her hands under her face. Her brother has been in contact with something cruel since she was a child, but she will never believe that it is Julie, even though the 12-year-old can take on different forms.
She's her friend, she's good, it's impossible.
Eric lies, saying it's her.
*
Veronica tries to get away from her friend when, while going to breakfast, she is attacked by him. Lucas embraces her from behind, puts his head on her shoulder and squeezes her tightly.
— Let go of me, clingy — the brunette says in an amused voice as he starts tickling her neck with his breath. He does this deliberately because he knows how much she dislikes it. — Lucas!
Walking beside them, Nicki looks brandy, still feeling embarrassed by the situation from yesterday.
— People look at me like I'm a whore. They don't know the truth, and they judge me even though they don't say it out loud.
— You are exaggerating, Nicki. They don't even pay attention to you, come on. — The brunette bends in Lucas' embrace, unable to stand the tickling. — Let me go, damn it!
The boy has no intention of leaving her alone until they enter the cafeteria. He has an excellent mood today, which he intends to infect his friend with.
— No, I woke up with the thought that I need affection. My mommy is not here, so I take advantage of you.
Lucas is a sweetheart, but sporadically, he overdoes it.
Veronica's face darkens when Eric walks past them without even forcing himself to say hello. He just ignores them.
— Did you talk to him this morning? — Nicki asks her friend, who mutters affirmatively in response. — He hinted to you, perhaps, why he was acting so strangely?
— I asked him why his sudden interest in a girl he had hitherto hated. He replied only that he had always dreamed of having a mistress — a slave.
They enter the cafeteria and observe a 16-year-old who sits down next to Miranda. He puts his arm around his peer and, smiling under his breath, whispers something in her ear. The girl is confused. She looks around the interior, feeling people's gazes on her.
Eventually, she walks away from the table, and Eric settles comfortably in a chair, with an arrogant expression on his face looking in her direction.
Miranda pours water into a cup for him and, with the face of a pained puppy, places it next to his tray.
— I thought she was tough, and she really serves your brother? — Nicki puts her finger to her lips, biting a long fingernail painted with white lacquer. — He must be blackmailing her with something.... what do you think it is? — she turns to her friend.
— Something he must have found on her.... and I don't believe it's just that he saw her naked.
Friends look at her with astonishment in their eyes.
— Eric saw her naked? Did she undress in front of him? Why didn't he brag to me?
The brunette slaps Lucas on the shoulder.
— Barbie is annoying, but... it was a coincidence that she exposed herself.
— What is he up to? — Lucas is also confused by his roommate's behavior. She has known him since he was a child, he has always preferred to live in the shadows, he hated the popular students, and now he himself intends to become one of them, which is unlike him. He's holding the school beauty for a reason.
— This is a game, and Miranda is his pawn. — Veronica crosses her arms and smiles under her breath. — He clearly wants to take my place. He would like to take everything away from me.
And right now, the 17-year-old is starting to believe Julie's words.
— So he followed you to Horace Mann to make your life miserable? — Nicki doesn't understand this at all. — You are siblings. Why are you two competing? You should love each other and support each other in everything.
— It would be if Eric was himself — Veronica replies in a whisper.
She taps her red stiletto heels against the floor surface as she directs her steps to her brother. The friends sit down at the nearest table, watching as the seventeen-year-old tries to raise hell in a bid to call Eric to order.
She aggressively places the tray on the table, leaning against the tabletop with her hands. He leans over his brother's frantic face.
— Are you having fun, shithead?
Sitting next to him, Miranda remains silent, which is completely unlike her. Until now, she was a barker who wanted to hit on Lucas at all costs.
Now she's like a scared little girl who is afraid to open her mouth.
She lacks the boldness to become a popular Horace Mann girl. Aside from her looks, she has no qualities that could be a contender for Veronica.
— Why are you meddling? — he says protracted, with a hint of horror in his voice. — Ignore me, as you have been doing all your life so far, little sister.
She lowers her face and laughs under her breath.
— First you terrorized your family, now you're going to terrorize your colleagues?
Eric drinks the water in a stranglehold and puts the cup back on the table.
— Barbie, once again the same thing, only that the water is supposed to be more chilled — he turns to his peer, although his firm gaze is aimed at his sister at all times.
Miranda squeezes the cup in her hand, closes her eyelids and rises from her chair without a word.
— What are you blackmailing her with?
— Julie gave me some accounts of her life.... it's interesting.
The seventeen-year-old squints as her brother smiles perfunctorily.
— Here you go again... don't try to bring Julie into it. You want to quarrel me with all my friends, you want to take revenge....
He bursts out laughing, putting his hand to his chest.
— Me, that's what she told you? Wow. She's quite a manipulator, but I'm surprised that you're as dumb as a shoe if you've believed every word she's said all your life.
Dressed in a uniform and bright pink stilettos, Miranda stands next to Eric, holding a cup of lukewarm water in her hand.
Her hands tremble as she extends them in front of her, directly in front of her colleague's face. Out of the corner of her eye she glances at Lucas, who has been watching her the whole time.
And currently, she feels humiliation in front of the man she likes.
She presses her lips together and splashes water in Eric's face. She retreats backwards as the indignant boy rises from his chair, piercing her with his eyes.
His wet fringe sticks to his forehead, drops of water run down his chin, falling on his white shirt.
He grabs her by the collar of his jacket, looking at her with fury in his eyes.
— You will regret this, "Pauper," he says to her in a whisper. This word causes tears to appear in her eyes.
— No more love — one of the girls speaks up, having a laugh as the school beauty is humiliated in public.
No one reacts. No one intends to interfere.
Veronica watches as a black glow escapes from her brother's back.
Something is wrong.
The last time a ghost took over his body was when he was seven years old, so why has this thing attacked him again now, only that in Horace Mann?
— The first day he showed up at school, he broke into the cursed room. He opened the door, which gave the curse renewed power. — In his head he hears strange, frightening whispers. — You must go there too, Veronica....
She puts his hand to her mouth, looking at his brother with worried eyes.
What then hides this room? Why has it been the curse of her family for many years? And why does Eric suffer the most?